VietNamNet Bridge – The Ha Noi People’s Committee has instructed Hoai Duc District authorities to investigate reports that a local primary school is collecting large sums as extra fees, causing outrage among parents.

The list of extra fees, which raise up to VND7.5 million ($322), of Son Dong Primary School in Hanoi’s Hoai Duc District. – Photo vov.vn

In a communication on Wednesday city chairman Nguyen Duc Chung ordered the district chairman to check how much extra fees Son Dong Primary School has been collecting. 

The total fees it collected must not exceed the cap prescribed in the Government’s Decree 86/2015/NĐ-CP on tuition fees of public educational establishments, he warned.

He said the report must be submitted before September 10.

On September 3 a video clip posted on social websites showed many parents protesting the collection of extra fees of up to VND7.5 million (US$322) by the school.

The next day the school’s principal, Nguyen Kim Oanh, met with hundreds of parents but failed to provide a proper explanation and even walked out when asked about the fees.

A parent who asked not to be named called the fees “unreasonable,” citing the example of a fee for renting a counting frame. It is totally unnecessary for first graders to use this kind of tool, and the VND650,000 ($28.2) claimed for this is not a small sum, she said.

Another parent said the parent fund is supposed to be voluntary, but not in that school, and worse still, it has been hiked every year to VND250,000 ($10.8) now.

District authorities have ordered the school to stop collecting the extra fees and sought a report.

Extra fees have been a continuing problem in Vietnam. In many cases, extra fees for upgrading classroom facilities, renovating school infrastructure, extra classes and others far outstrip tuition fees.

Source: VNS